I remember the exact day that I became a Cal Ripken, Jr. fan. I was about 6 years old in my living room and my dad was watching baseball. I see Ripken running to his right near third base territory and sling a rocket to first for an out. Ever since then, I was hooked. Not just on Ripken, but on the sport.

Cal was truly one of the first of his kind. He was drafted a pitcher but got his start at the hot corner. Then, manager Earl Weaver decided to give him a shot at SS, and that's where his legacy began. Other than that, he was 6'4". Most considered him too tall and lanky to be able to control the middle infield. His ability to hit for power (First AL shortstop to hit for 30 HRs in a season) opened the gateway for the players that awe us today, like Derek Jeter for one. Hell, even A-Rod in Seattle was a thrill to watch.

His first season (he was called up midway through the 82 season), first at bat, Cal hits his first career big league homerun. He also won the AL rookie of the year while leading all rookies in every offensive category. The next year in 83, he became the second player in MLB history to win the rookie of the year, and MVP honors in back to back seasons.

Honestly, I could go on and on about his achievements as a defensive player. How he holds records for fewest errors in a season, or how multiple times he led the league in assists. But we know he has these accomplishments because if he didn't, we wouldn't know he was a sure bet for the Hall. I already touched on some of his offensive feats.

I'm not going to turn this into a biography about Ripken, though. I have never seen a player play with so much passion for the game. In this day of free agency bidding, egos, and alledged steroid use, seeing a player play in his home state for 21 seasons is outstanding. Tony Gwynn stayed with the padres his entire career as well.

What would a Cal Ripken post be without talking about the streak? What kills me is that some people think that the only reason he will get in is because of the streak and it #### me off that ignorant people think this way. True, he set a record that probably will not be broken ever. That's not a biased opinion, it's fact. So many players think they "deserve" days off, and that fact alone is what will keep this record intact.

The streak started May 30, 1982 and was summed up September 20, 1998. The streak was great to watch, and if you look at my avatar, you can see the emotion built up in him when he broke it. I remember to this day, watching the game on TV with my family. When the game was official, the game paused and Ripken ran a "victory lap" around the field and shook hands with anyone in reach. I taped that game...I don't know what happened to it, but I wish I could find it. I'd love to sit around and watch it again sometime. The only sound you could hear was the fans cheering for their hero, the Iron Man.

I'm sorry Flying Pig...but again, Alan Trammel did not get in. A week 08 class should help his cause.

Gwynn and Ripken came closer to a unanimous decision than anyone in the history of HOF voting. The only reason they didn't, I believe, is that some sports writers do not vote for first time HOF nominees. Whatever, I don't mind. As long as he is in, I'm happy.

Another thing that drew me to Cal was his love for the game and the fans. He was a fan of the fans and that's why he was so well loved and respected in Baltimore. Hell, he's the reason why I watch the Orioles to this day, and you guys know we haven't had much to brag about over the past 10-12 seasons...I'm talking to you Jeff Mayer!

I would have loved to have been alive to see him win a championship. His only ring came before my time. However, I have had the pleasure of watching him play in the inaugural year of Camden Yards. It was amazing. I was young and had never been to a ball game bigger than the local high school's. It was the O's vs. A's. I got to see Ripken, Mussina, Henderson, Canseco (before controversies), along with McGwire.

The man of 1,000 stances was an inspiration to all of us that enjoy the sport. If not for his passion, I may have never decided to pick up a glove and tell my dad I wanted to play shortstop for the local league. I may have never decided to give my all in every sport I played. I may have never learned that it is more than a game, it's an experience that we all share together, 9 on each side.

This is a great thing to me, but more importantly, it is a great day for baseball. One of the classiest guys to play the game, one that gave so much back to Baltimore and it's youth, will forever be remembered in a Hall of Fame, no, Hall of Greats.

Now, I salute you, Mr. Ripken, for your 21 years of dedication, determination, and love for the game!

I apologize in advance for spamming, but I just wanted everyone to see this. 

Rec out

*Most of the stats were taken from Wikipedia.org

I'm going to start a rumor going around that LSU and Florida are playing a game in March.

After the past couple of weeks, and barring some miraculous turnaround for the buckeyes, these are the only two teams that showed in their respective bowl games...well, other than Boise State...but I just thought of that as I was writing.

Anywho, this is great to watch.  And I'm an ACC fan, so I have no ties to either conference!

C'mon basketball season! 

And managed to miss OSU's first score....

Oh well....Florida needs to step up

All I have been hearing since the bowl announcements is that Div I needs a playoff system in place to determine national champions.

I totally agree because the system in place now is terribly flawed and I'm not wasting my/your time by telling you how, since you hear about it everyday this time of year.

However, I will say this: The teams that were "snubbed" this year, still played. Maybe not in the type of game they wanted, but they still got their matchup, TV time, etc. I have a feeling that if a playoff system is in place, then more teams will not be allowed to play in December/January. Here are my reasons...

1) With football being played only once a week, many more teams than 10 would take entirely too long, without reducing a game from the regular season.

2) It's all about the $$$. Less games means less advertising means less money.

I've been talking to some buddies of mine and I came up with this idea. It is more like a hybrid system. Take these early bowl games and still play them. Let them be appetizers to the playoffs. After that, have a 10 team playoff, top 2 teams have byes, and play from there.

I can already see the complaints coming in. Say one team is ranked 3rd in the playoff, but had a legitimate shot at being 2, and then they lose, you'll hear how they lost in a game that shouldn't have even been played.

I feel like this, you are not going to please everyone. It will never happen. It's like going on a trip with buddies. There's always someone who doesn't like the plans. However, I feel like this formula (with tweaking from you guys) could actually help college football. But then again, I know I won't stop watching games because of a messed up BCS system, will you?

Which brings me to my next point. Let's say you are FOX. You are showing the Wake/Louisville game tonight. Let's say that I think this is a bad pairing, and that I believe wake is on a lower level than Louisville. (remember, this is rhetorical) Is that going to keep me from watching the game? No, because I still like the game itself. Until you start messing with the money that drives the machine, nothing will change. I'm pretty sure all of us will continue to watch college football as long as we're able. We don't care about the suits running the game, it's the players and coaches in the game that make them what they are.

Sorry, got a little long-winded. I hope this makes sense to whomever will read it.

Don't worry, I know I teetered along the yay/nay line for this argument. But for the record, something's gotta give.

Go Blue Devils

rec out

I know no one cares, but I do.   But the college I am currently attending (East Carolina University) is now Bowl-eligible with a shot at the Conference USA East Title.  Right now, it looks like we are heading to the Armed Forces Bowl somewhere in Texas.  It would be sweet if we could win the Conf. championship and play in the Liberty Bowl (I think that's our Conference Championship bid...can't remember).  That sounds like one hell of a road trip, if you ask me.

GO PIRATES!!!!!!!!!  ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! 

Ok guys, this is only my second experience with fantasy football and I would like some input on my team.  I have a spot I'm worried about, but I think all-in-all, I should be ok.  Here goes...

QB - P. Manning (Ind)

QP - M. Hasselbeck (Sea)

QB - M. Brunell (He's still playing?) (Was)

WR - S. Smith (Car)

WR - K. Johnson (Car)

WR - K. McCardell (SD)

WR - Jurevicous (Cle)

WR - Mi. Clayton (TB)

RB - Westbrook (Phi)

RB - R. Brown (Mia)

RB - J. Jones (Dal)

TE - A. Gates (SD)

TE - Crumpler (Atl)

K - Rackers (Ari)

Def - Chicago

Def - NY

This is a very point-friendly league.  It seems we have quite a few starters in each position, I don't know if that's normal or not.  I'll try to give you a rundown of what the league entails.

2 QB's, 3 WR's, 2 RB's, 1 TE, 2 W/T (WR/TE?), 1 K, 2 Def.

Will having Smith and Johnson hurt me?  I know I'll have a majority of Carolina's passing touchdowns.  I am worried about the bye week.  Are my backups good enough to cover them? 

Like I said, I am fairly new to this, so I don't really know if I have a good team.  It seems like everyone I have had good years last year, but I'm not sure how that translates to fantasy.

Any comments are greatly appreciated.

I just got my copy of NCAA 07.  Can't wait to get home....dang work.

Rec out.

As I waited for an extremely ugly Cubs-Mets game to end so I could watch the ESPY's, I couldn't help but go through the nominees and try to figure out who would win what award.  Was David Wright's diving-barehanded grab going to be as good as Tyrone Prothro's TD catch on the back of his defender?

I didn't know what to expect because I always enjoy the ESPY's.  It's practically the only awards show I watch. 

One award came up that I didn't think about.  Best Moment.  Then I saw the nominees and thought, "This is going to be a tough one."

I thought the award only came down to two recipients off the bat.

1)  Jason McElwain - Great story.  An autistic (sp) high school basketball player finally gets a chance to play.  Out of nowhere he hits six 3-pointers for a total of 20 points in under 4 minutes.  I think the most amazing part of the story was the crowd.  He hit his first one and the gym absolutely erupted.  Fans were halfway on the court, people cheering, students with a cutout of McElwain's face waving it around.  It was absolutely amazing.

2) The Dowd family.  This was a truely inspirational story as well.  Dakota Dowd, 13, was a golf prodigy.  She was very good at what she did, needless to say.  Her mother, Kelly-Jo, came down with bone and liver cancer looked on.  If I remember correctly, Kelly-Jo was told she only had a certain amount of time to live and that she always wanted to watch Dakota play in an LPGA event.  Well Dakota was willing to fulfill her mother's wish.  She qualified for an event (sorry, I can't remember the event or the location).  And in a Disney-like ending, birdied her first hole of her LPGA career.

I think the real moment for me came when they announced the Arthur Ashe Courage Award Recipients.  It was a highschool in New Orleans named Ehret High School.  These were kids who lost a lot during Hurricane Katrina.  But a single coach wanted to get a group of boys together to play a game they love, to give hope to the community.  These boys were from different areas around the state, coming together to bring a little light after a very dark storm.  Some of these kids, young men, had to sleep on friends' couches just to have a warm place to sleep throughout the school year.  These bright young faces were all these communities had amidst the tragedy.  They gave everyone a release from all the pain.  They brought people together through one common interest, and it involved a little orange ball.  In another Disney-like ending, this team of young men went on to win the state championship.  At this point I had already teared up a little, not so much for the fairy tale ending, but because not one young man in the interview complained about how bad it was.  They were all smiles and told us that sometimes you have to make some lemonade.

This showed that there are some things out there that aren't about money, politics, etc.  These three all deserved recognition.  Dakota Dowd definitely deserved an award, but she was up against pretty strong competition.  As long the "Best Moment" left with one of them, I was happy.  Kobe's good and all, but 81 points in a game fails in comparison to these two.

Those young men and the young lady did this for the love of the game.  McElwain got to play for his dedication all season long.  With most athletes today, he would've complained or quit before that game was even close to being played.  The men at Ehret High School wanted to play, they didn't care with who or where, they wanted to focus on something besides the tragedy that struck their family and friends.  Dakota did it for Mom.

It's stories like this that make me believe, one day, it will stop being about money, and start to be about the game.